Rose's Seven Sleeping Activities
by alambil felicis
Summary: Rose's seven sleeping activities as witnessed by Scorpius. Talking. Walking. Eating. Kicking. Groping. Sobbing. Smiling. And there's even a little pleasant surprise at the end.
1. Sleeptalking

_Chapter 1_

* * *

><p><em>When: 5th year, September<em>

_ Where: A compartment in Hogwarts Express_

_ Sleeping Activity: Sleep talking_

"Is your cousin dead?" Scorpius asked Albus as he frowned at Rose, whose head was bowed down; her hands limply rested on her lap and her red hair covering her face.

Albus flinched when the train made a sudden lurch causing Rose to bounce alarmingly. "She's been having trouble sleeping these past few nights, she told me."

"Oh," Scorpius drawled. "How charming."

The train made another lurch and Albus lunged forward to save his cousin from falling off of her seat.

"Honestly, the driver is being too rash," he muttered as he straightened Rose up. She did not wake up. "Help me make her lie down, will you?"

Scorpius rolled his eyes, "Am I obliged to?"

"As my best mate, yeah,"

The blond scoffed but helped Albus all the same. They sat back on their seats and watched her.

"This is fun," Scorpius muttered sardonically.

Albus sighed, "Oh yeah—"

"Anything from the trolley?"

They heard the trolley lady call out just outside their compartment. Albus' senses perked up and he immediately groped his pockets for a couple of knuts and sickles. He looked longingly at the door, where the lady was stranded, surrounded by students who wanted to buy their own share of candies.

"Oh yeah!" a third year student exclaimed. "They finally have muggle sweets! Merlin, Snicker bars! I want those—"

"RED VINES!"

The trolley lady complained in a gentle way, "Can you please be organized—"

"RED VINES! I want Red Vines!"

Scorpius noticed how Albus' expression melted with yearning when he heard some kid shout Red Vines, so he said, "If you want to you can g—"

"But it would be a battle out there," Albus replied darkly. He dramatically turned his head towards his friend. "I might be gone for a long time…perhaps nev—"

The blond snorted. "Just go."

"How about Rose?"

"What, you think I'll rape her?" Scorpius wrinkled his nose at the disgusting thought.

But Albus already stood up, as if in a trance, and opened the compartment door. "If she falls off, put her back, okay?"

The door shut even before Scorpius could reply. He leaned back on his chair and stared at Rose's still form. He listened at all the hustle and bustle that the sugar-toothed kids outside their compartment were making. He was hearing the trolley lady slowly getting annoyed with their impatience. But then he heard a different sound. He turned his gaze towards Rose; she was mumbling something. Scorpius leaned forward to hear what she was saying, and this is what he heard, "That is _big_."

He quirked a curious eyebrow and listened more. Rose spoke louder, "How're you getting that big thing inside?"

Scorpius edged an inch more or two and drew Rose's curly hair away from her face. Her lips moved. "Looks delicious….can I taste it…before you place it inside…."

Dirty thoughts formed in the blond's mind. He had to put his hand over his mouth to prevent himself from laughing out loud. "Come closer…I can't reach it…put it in my mouth…mmm, that's good…"

Scorpius bit his knuckles, his sides splitting, as he continued his fight against his fits of laughter. Then the train jolted forward again, causing the cavity-infested kids outside to gasp and exclaim in surprise, and Rose to fly off the seat and wake up. Scorpius caught her, but the sudden impact of her weight caused both of them to topple on the floor.

"Bloody he—" Rose mumbled.

He could no longer contain his laughs and guffawed as loud as he can. Rose pushed him away and rubbed her elbow which hit the floor painfully.

"What are you on about?"

Scorpius composed himself a little and returned to his seat. "Having wet dreams, Weasley?" Although he was close to Albus, and Albus was close to Rose, resulting in unwanted time spent with the redhaired girl, he still called her Weasley, but only whenever they were alone; he only resorted to call her Rose when Albus is within close proximity.

"Wh—what do you mean?" Rose asked, looking genuinely perplexed.

"You were talking in your sleep."

Rose hoisted herself up and sat. She stared incredulously at Scorpius and tried to remember anything from her slumber. "What was I saying?" she asked suspiciously.

He smirked at her and tilted his head to the left, as if studying a fascinating specimen. "You want me to repeat that? Alright…erm, let me see. Oh yes, you were saying that it was big. Whatever it is, although I have a very _big_ idea. And you were being problematic as how to place it inside of something—" Rose cringed, imagining already what malicious thing Scorpius was thinking about. "—and then you wanted to taste it before it was placed inside. That was naughty, Weasley. Then you did in your dreams and said in your sleep that it was _good_. I reckon you haven't experienced that in real life, but you're free to dream—"

"Oh Merlin, Malfoy!" Like Scorpius, she only used his first name in front of Albus, for diplomacy's sake. "You have a dirty mind, don't you? Do you even know what I was dreaming about?"

"Pray tell," Scorpius challenged. "I might even give you a few lessons if you want. But no actual physical demonstrations allowed. It would only remain in your dreams."

Rose scoffed, feeling heat in her face. "I was dreaming about Teddy and Victoire's wedding! I was going to help pick out the cake for their wedding in my dream, idiot. I was dreaming that Victoire and I were levitating a five-story wedding cake inside of our grandparents house and—oh! Geez, malfoy, why am I even explaining this to you—"

Scorpius shrugged, "You're being defensive—"

"Just shut up—"

"You have a drool on the corner of your mouth," he informed her. Rose consciously looked at him and wiped the left corner of her mouth. "The other one."

Rose wiped her mouth's right corner, but the trail of drool wasn't gone. Scorpius leaned towards her, grabbed her hand and dabbed it over the drool. She shoved his hand away and he smirked at her as he slumped back.

"It's okay," he said smugly. "Your inappropriate dreaming and mumbling would reach no one's ears."

Rose opened her mouth to say something when Albus came in the compartment. "It's a riot out there!" he said, all ruddy faced. He sat beside Scorpius and looked at them joyously. "Who wants Red Vines? Anyone?" He munched as he offered his friends a pack full of the red licorice.

Scorpius looked at him with a mischievous glint in his eyes while Rose stared at him with angry indignant ones. He lowered his generous hand and said innocently, "What? Did I miss something?"

Scorpius looked at Rose and winked.

* * *

><p><em>As for wrong grammars and spellings.<em>


	2. Sleepwalking

_Chapter 2_

* * *

><p><em>When: 5th year, January<em>

_ Where: Ravenclaw Common Room_

_ What: Sleepwalking_

Rose and Scorpius had a lot in common. They had Albus as one of their best mates. They are both brilliant students in their year. They are both prefects. And they are both in Ravenclaw. So, naturally, they can't stand each other. (And you thought they'd be best friends because of their parallel conditions.) They don't necessarily hate one another, though; they have gotten past their differences as a Malfoy and a Weasley. Actually, they just compromised that they would never speak of their family's past breach ever again. But it doesn't mean they had to be friends. They found a way to make their similarities prevent them from being chums. It was seriously annoying, especially for Albus, who always got in the middle. But fortunately, the three of them learned how to live this complicated and weird life in Hogwarts with peace—

"YOU ANGER ME!" Rose shouted as she hurled a book towards Scorpius. Nobody inside the common room even bothered to look at them, because they were all used to their fights.

Scorpius caught the book, being a very skilled Chaser in the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, and looked at Rose unfazed. Rose continued, "I know you weren't sick today! Why the bloody hell did you skip classes for? We needed to pass that Potions report today! Professor Forsyth said I would get deducted marks if I pass the report tomorrow! You moron—" She threw him the nearest thing her hand could grab, which was luckily a less threatening thing than a book, but Scorpius caught the toss pillow.

"YOU BLUNDERING IDIOT WHO ONLY THINKS OF HIMSELF!" Rose growled out loud. "Why the hell did you skip classes? For goodness' sakes, you're a prefect! Not to mention, I placed my entire trust in you when Forsyth paired us up for the collaboration!"

"Calm down, Weasley," Scorpius said with composure. "I had to skip classes—"

"Why?"

He looked embarrassed and replied with hesitation, "I lost a bet with Emile Macmillian and I had to do all of his homework—"

Rose rolled her eyes and spun around in frustration, "_Boys_!" She stomped towards the staircases going up the girls' dormitories and stopped before she climbed. She turned to face Scorpius with a stern expression, "You better finish our report and hand it to Forsyth early in the morning or else I'll kill you in the most uncomfortable way."

When she was gone, Scorpius ran his hands through his hair. He was very tired, so tired he didn't fight back Rose, and he had to do his homework, Emile's, and finish the Potions report. He had a feeling he wouldn be staying up late, possibly up 'til morning. He immediately set to work.

.

His eyes had been rubbed off dry and itchy, his hair had been sticking out on its ends, and his neck had been aching. He was finished with all of his and Emile's homework, and the only thing that remained was Rose and his report about the plant they've been spraying with different sorts of potion for the past month. He was halfway within the report's conclusion, when he heard a distinct noise from behind him. He spun around and, to his surprise, saw Rose in her collared night gown, walking eerily down from the dormitories, across the room, and towards the portrait hole.

"Weasley," he called reluctantly. She stopped and turned around, her face blank and her eyes dreamy, like she was not really seeing Scorpius. "Wh—what are you doing?"

Rose continued walking towards the portrait hole. Scorpius stood up, and just when Rose was about to open the door, he pulled Rose and made him face her. "Are you alright?" he asked with genuine concern.

Rose gently pushed him away. "Why don't you go to bed? I'll finish the Potions thing." He told her carefully.

She traipsed away from him in a ghostly manner, but instead of going to the girls' dormitories, she went to the boys'. Scorpius hurried towards Rose, who was already going up the staircase. He tugged on her sleeve and frantically hissed, "What are you on at?"

Rose grunted and freed herself from his fingers. She climbed the stairs, two steps at a time, and reached the last landing. Scorpius grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her away from the narrow corridor of the dorms, but Rose slipped away from him, ran and went inside the fifth year boys' dormitory. Scorpius took in a sharp breath and quickly followed her suit. He slowly opened the door, not wanting to wake up his classmates, and looked for Rose in the dimly lit room. Then he sensed a movement from his bed.

She was curled up into a ball, with Scorpius' sheets tightly covering her. He shook her and hissed at where he thought her ear was, "Get out of there! What the hell are you doing?"

Rose squirmed and pulled the blanket around her even more tightly. Scorpius tried to pull off the covers from her but she effectively resisted. He climbed on the bed, with the utmost and desperate urgency to get her out of his bed before anyone wakes and find them together, and knelt beside her, being careful not to get too close. He thought of levitating her out, but realized his wand was left downstairs with the pile of books and parchments on the table.

"Weasley! Rose, get out of there! I'm serious—" Rose writhed, shifting her weight dangerously, causing Scorpius to lose balance and land on top of her.

Scorpius uttered a curse as he immediately pushed himself up with his hands. He ended up straddling Rose's midriff. Herbert Davies groaned groggily which gave Scorpius a mini heart attack, as if he was caught doing something illegal. "Scorp, try to keep it down, would you?"

"Mmkay," Scorpius said through gritted teeth while Rose squirmed silently beneath him. When he heard Herbert snore his way back to his dreams, Scorpius caught Rose's wrists, and gingerly got off of her, but carefully leaning his weight on her so she could not move. "Rose," he angrily breathed in her ear (as the blanket come off from her face) "When I release you, you would silently get off my bed and out of my dorm to return to your own room. You'd do it without protest, alright?"

Rose got still, and Scorpius took it as a sign that she understood, so he got off, and then waited for her to stand up, but she merely pulled the blanket around her and rolled on to one side. He wiped his face in frustration and planted his knee firmly on the bed. He reached for her neck, looped his arm beneath it, and did the same to her knees. He prepared himself to carry her off, and pulled her towards his chest and to the edge of the bed. But Rose wriggled away, and Scorpius lost his grip, resulting to a painful incident; Rose tumbled over and hit her head on Scorpius' bedside table. Scorpius made a hissing noise, imagining how painful the hit must've been, while Rose climbed on the bed once more, moaning.

Rose caressed her forehead and Scorpius bent over her. "Weasley, get out of my bed now…"

She sat up, to Scorpius' mild surprise, as he was expecting that she'd put up a fight again, and then made to exit the room. Scorpius followed her down into the common room and stopped to watch her continue her way on the foot of the girls' staircase.

He waited for several moments, thinking that Rose would come back down and do other crazy things, but she didn't. Scorpius went back to his table, where the report waited, and found that he could not think straight after the unusual incident of Rose sleepwalking.

Next morning, Rose woke up with a throbbing head. She looked at the mirror, alarmed, after Berta Fenwick, one of her classmates, pointed out that she had a violent bruise on her forehead. She ate breakfast in the Great Hall with a bewildered expression, for she did not know the origins of her injury, and cubes of ice from her orange juice wrapped in her handkerchief pressed against her bruise. She was chewing on her toast when Scorpius sat in front of her, looking uncomfortably at her forehead.

"What?" she snapped.

"I passed our report," he informed. "Professor Forsyth wouldn't deduct our marks. I begged him not to. I seldom beg, Weasley, so that's something."

Rose looked away. Emile Macmillian sat beside her and said, "What happened to your head, Rose?" And without waiting for an answer, he turned to Scorpius and said, "Thanks mate! I'm done with all the assignments for the week—"

"Yeah, okay," he said nonchalantly. "Listen, Weasley." She did not look as she was staring murderously at the plate of eggs before her, thinking of how she got bruised. "Weasley…Wesaley—Rose, I'm trying to tell you something—"

"That bruise looks bad, Rose," Emile commented. "How did you get it?"

"I don't know," Rose spat.

"Rose, don't you remember what happened last night?" Scorpius blurted out.

She looked up alarmingly. "What?"

"It was…don't you remember hitting your head on my bedside table?" he asked weakly.

Rose frowned, "What the hell was I doing with in close proximity of your bedside ta—" Her eyes widened a few diameters. "What was I doing in your room? Near your _bed_? Considering it was your bedside table that did this to me—" She was gushing out in a panicked tone. "Last _night_?" She squeaked.

Emile whistled mischievously and sniggered, "I guess I'll be leaving." He slid on the bench away from them. "I think this conversation is…_private_."

Scorpius scowled at him and threw a piece of muffin at him, which hit Emile on the back of his head with a loud thump. The blond turned back to a flustered Rose, who was looking at him, wishing he was joking. "Explain!" she shrieked.

"You were sleepwalking," Scorpius smirked. "It was disturbing on the moment, but looking back, it's rather funny, really."

Rose stuttered.

"I did nothing!" he said defensively. "I swear. You came to my dorm while I was finishing the report and got on my bed. I tried to carry you away but you resisted and then you fell and hit your head on the bedside table. Then you just walked away. That's all."

Rose blushed profusely and bit her lip. "_Sleepwalking_…" she breathed incredulously. She lowered her self-improvised ice pack, which was already dripping with water and looked at Scorpius. "No one hears about this," she said darkly.

Scorpius mimed zipping his lips shut and smirked. "I'm deciding to be a nice person."

Rose chewed on her tongue awkwardly as she wiped her forehead, wet from the ice pack. She winced as her bruise throbbed painfully.

"Next time you're going to bed," Scorpius said seriously. "Wear a helmet. And shoes. You don't know the places you can reach when you sleepwalk."

She grimaced as she felt forehead. Scorpius leaned forward and cooed, "Aaw, does it hurt? Want me to kiss it better?" He sniggered like a child.

Rose glared at him, reached for a muffin, and threw it at Scorpius, who caught it with precision, just like how he caught the book and pillow tossed at him yester night.

* * *

><p><em>Apologies for wrong grammars and spellings.<em>


	3. Sleepkicking

_Chapter 3_

* * *

><p><em>When: 5th year, early January<em>

_ Where: Ravenclaw Common Room_

_ What: Sleepkicking_

In the previous chapter, we learned how Scorpius witnessed one of Rose's sleeping activities, sleepwalking, which is a largely common habit around the world, nonetheless, comical and sometimes embarrassing, but in Rose's case, somewhat fluffy yet very dangerous. However, we will go back less than a month's time in order to recount another sleeping activity, which concerns Scorpius in a painful way, and by painful, I meant painful.

But Scorpius never expected much pain the day Professor Forsyth paired them up for the Potions project. He merely expected a lot of bickering, a couple of snarling and eye-rolling courtesy of Rose Weasley, and some scoffing and smirking he would seriously be thrilled to contribute.

"Why us?" Rose asked the professor nonplussed, just after Forsyth finished explaining the project and pointing out the pairs. "I can be partnered w—"

"I've made up my mind, Miss Weasley," he said merrily, showing his bucked teeth. Professor Forsyth pushed his spectacles up his nose and walked off.

Rose turned to Scorpius, "Why us?"

The blond shrugged dully, but he was rather happy that Rose was not getting in a rage. At least he was looking at the bright side.

All of the pairs were given a pot of plant each, all of which was possible thanks to Professor Sprout, and after the Potions Master allowed them to take vials of the potions they were to experiment with, Forsyth dismissed the students. Rose carried the pot of plant while Scorpius arranged the vials on the rack in his hands. Together in silence, they traipsed up to the Ravenclaw Tower.

"What I don't get," Rose began after settling the plant on the table in the common room. "Is the reason why—"

"—we're paired up?" Scorpius suggested innocently.

"No," she answered, which made Scorpius raise his eyebrows a little. "I meant why we have to do this project? What's the reason? Why would I care what would happen if the plant was fed with laxative potion? I mean, what's the point? Would this even come up in our OWLS?"

"Maybe it's a psychological thing Forsyth's on about,' he said. "He _is_ rather kooky. Isn't he an environmental activist? Maybe he's trying to teach us the lesson that we shouldn't go spilling potions all over Mother Nature."

Scorpius said all these as if he was making a very good joke. Rose rolled her eyes and asked for the vials. She started recording the names of the potions in her notebook. The blonde sat down on the sofa a foot beside her, trying to peer in her notes. He cleared his throat and asked in genuine interest, "So, you're not even going to scream in fury because we've been partnered?"

Rose turned her head slowly to his direction, her face all business-like and calm. "Malfoy, I'm not dense. I know what could be good for me, and being paired up with you could definitely be good for me. Well, more for my grades, but I'm willing to endure anything unpleasant with you if it means getting the highest mark in Potions. I've been having a tough time lately. Forsyth's lesson plans are getting ridiculous."

Scorpius shrugged and gestured that she could continue with her list. They started with the project the night that followed, and they needed to apply a different potion after every forty-eight hours. Scorpius met his expectations: half of their time working together was spent on bickering, Rose's eyeballs were on the verge of permanent dislocation due to her projection of rainbow eyes (Scorpius thought sooner or later her eyes would pop out from her head and roll on the floor) and then there were times that he had a hard time deciding whether he would scoff at Rose or else smirk at her. It was a very tedious job; they were always the last to go to their dorms in the common room. Their classmates who were taking the same assignment admired them for their determination and hardwork, but Rose and Scorpius knew that the reason why they were having such a long time with each potion were the problems with various depths that ensued through the course of their work.

On the night of the fourth potion, one of Rose's sleeping activities was discovered.

Scorpius had given her copious amounts of warnings not to get the Dulling Concoction on her skin, for it would cause drowsiness. But Rose did not wear the gloves that he conjured. She was feeling irritable an she wanted to get the work done as soon as possible, so she poured the whole contents of the small bottle on their plant, but a few drops spilled on her wrists, and as soon as she looked down on her hand in surprise, Scorpius growled and wiped his face in frustration.

"Nice going Weasley!" He snarled. "In a matter of minutes, you'll get drowsy and then you'll fall asleep and then I'll have to finish the stupid report on the Dulling Concoction on my own!"

Rose flushed in guilt and said, "Can't we—"

"Just…" he sighed in defeat as he bent down to examine the plant, whose soil was bubbling slightly. "Go to bed, as you'll be asleep within minutes."

She stifled a yawn and moved closer to the plant, grabbing Scorpius' quill and parchment. "I'll do whatever I can now before I fall asleep," she said dismissively.

Scorpius let her, but just after two minutes, her head bobbed up and down and her eyes fluttered open and close slowly as she fought off the inconvenient effects of the seemingly harmless potion. Rose pushed the report towards Scorpius, giving off a big yawn, and climbed on the sofa where she sat drowsily.

"How long would I be asleep?" she asked, as the remaining second-years and sixth-years went up to their own dormitories, leaving the two of them quite alone.

"Dunno," Scorpius muttered, concentrating hard on the report. "Go up; I'll finish this."

Rose mumbled incoherently but remained in her seat. Her upper body slowly slid sideways and down on the sofa. Five minutes passed until Scorpius realized Rose was still in the common room; her light snore told him so. He looked behind and saw her lying down, her face looking peaceful. It took him a second too long before he was able to look away so that he could get back to his work, wherein he was in the middle of describing the leaves' appearance, which were droopy and slightly shriveled. He was getting drowsy himself, but he kept on writing. Then—

"Ow!"

Something gave a hard blow on the head that made him see stars. He opened his teary eyes and glanced round at the source of the pain inflicted upon him. Rose stirred in her sleep but did not wake. She snuggled comfortably against the throw pillow under her head.

"Weasley," he snarled. Rose kept still. "Hey…hey Rose!" Still no movement. Scorpius curled his lip and set back to work.

Then after just a few more minutes, his quill slipped away from his hand and his head lolled sideways, just a few inches from Rose's feet, which, according to what would happen next, is a bad location.

Rose grunted and jerked her left leg, so that her heel collided with Scorpius' jaw. He started awake and swore angrily. Rose's foot lurked dangerously close by his ear. Scorpius noticed this behind a slight rim of tears, and moved away from it. But Rose stretched her leg and her biggest toe touched his blonde hair. He felt a shiver run down his spine, and he didn't know whether he wanted to move away or not. But before he could make a decision, Rose kicked him again.

Sorpius grabbed her left foot, which was trying to aim a kick at him, and held it down on the sofa. Rose's forehead creased in a dreamy frustration. Her right leg, meanwhile, found a way to give harm to Scorpius' face. She kicked him on the nose. Scorpius groaned so loud, hoping it would wake up Rose. When it didn't, he grabbed her left foot and restrained it. But her feet kept struggling free.

"Rose!" he said. "Wake up you little screwed up-agh!" Her left foot was freed and she kicked him again. Scorpius hissed with fury as he sat down on the end of the sofa, Rose's feet jerking undefeated in his grip.

"Weasley! Weasley! Weasley!"

But she did not wake. She calmed down after Scorpius called 'Weasley' for the nth time. And then he had to let go. Scorpius clicked his tongue furiously and sat back down on the floor to finish the report even though his head ached. Rose twisted and shifted her position so that her feet gently rested behind Scorpius' head. He felt them and paused for a moment, deliberating whether she would start kicking again or not. Good thing, she didn't. She merely rubbed her feet together slowly, so that it felt like Scorpius was having a head massage. He found himself closing his eyes and feeling the nice warm sensation on his nape. Then he snapped his eyes open, stood up and straightened himself. He shook Rose roughly on the shoulders.

"Wha…" she said groggily, her eyes halfway open.

"Get up to your bed," he said in a strange restrained voice.

"Nnggghhhmmm," she sounded.

Scorpius stared at her and scowled. "Stupid Dulling Concoction," he said as he rubbed his sore jaw. Then he looked down on their Potions project. "Stupid Professor Forsyth and his stupid project."

He packed up quickly and then took a last look at Rose, intending to leave her sleeping in the common room. "Stupid….ergh…."

He marched up to his dormitory. Once he put on his pyjamas and lied down on his bed, he forgot the pain and instead concentrated on the pleasant feeling of Rose's 'massage'. He smiled in the dark, then winced, because the pain returned.

* * *

><p><em>Nothing happened much in here. Screw college and let's fly to Hogwarts. Who's with me?<em>

_Apologies for wrong grammars and spellings._


	4. Sleepgroping

_Chapter 4_

* * *

><p><em>When: 6th year (mid-September)<em>

_Where: Astronomy_

_What: Sleep-groping_

"Tonight, I assure you, will be a sleepless night," Professor Sinistra said as she waved her wand to hand out constellation maps to her students. "You might've noticed that there is a definite lack of homework load for the week. It is because I have asked you teachers not to assign any work to you as you would be spending the whole night and the following on learning and memorizing constellations. This is a tiresome affair, my students. You would be doing this for two consecutive nights: tonight, which is a Saturday night, and tomorrow, Sunday. Your classes on Monday are cleared, thanks to the consent of our Headmistress. Any questions? No? Alright. You can proceed to lay out your own mats. Go on."

The 6th year Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students all bustled to choose a nice spot under the clear cloudless night; the roof of the Astronomy Tower had been removed to allow Professor Sinistra's special activity. Scorpius chose a place on the edge of the student pool and snugly lied down on his mat. And well, what do you know? Rose happened to pick out the spot next to him on the left.

"Rose, what do you think you're doing?"

It still sounded quite foreign to Rose's ears, hearing Scorpius call her by her first name sincerely. Although they acted as civil as getting on first name terms in front of Albus, a common ally, they never really meant it. As told in a past chapter, they find themselves a lot comfortable with calling each other their surnames. But after a rather humiliating and disappointing encounter back in their fifth year a few weeks before the end of terms, they promised that they would act rightfully domestic and call each other with first names. This incident included Albus hearing the two of them in a serious fight. You see, they love Albus so much as a friend, and almost like a brother too, that they felt so ashamed of themselves for going behind his back and having a huge row like that (Albus didn't talk to Rose and Scorpius for a whole week). But that fight is no issue in this story. Perhaps in another one, but not here.

"I'm going to get high marks in Astronomy," she replied in a snob way.

"Well, fine," Scorpius scowled. "Just don't get too close here."

"As if I'd do that on free will," Rose rolled her eyes and lied back down. "I chose this area because it has a great view of—"

"Me," he said. "Admit it, you can't take your eyes off of me."

"I wonder how the Astronomy Tower isn't collapsing yet with the absurd weight of your big fat head."

"Stop your noise; we are about to start," came Professor Sinistra's voice. The roofless room suddenly dimmed so that the heavens above them glittered. "Have you all got your star charts? Good. I'm sure I have already given the introduction about stars and constellations. Now can anyone tell me the name of the topmost constellation in the northern hemisphere of your maps with the shape of a woman who seems to be chained?"

Scorpius raised his hand a millisecond earlier before Rose could. "Andromeda."

"Correct. Can anyone name the stars consisted in the constellation of Andromeda? Anyone?"

Rose reluctantly raised her hand, "Erm, I think there is Mirach…and something that starts with a C?"

"Well, that wasn't wrong exactly but it was only barely right. There is definitely a Mirach but no star with a C, only a star named Sirrah, which is the brightest star in the constellation, befittingly called Alpha Andromedae. There are also other stars namely Almach a multiple star, and the following minor stars you can read on your maps…"

Scorpius turned his head and sniggered at Rose joyfully; he loved it when she commits a mistake. Rose scowled and fixed her eyes on her map, but Scorpius' presence continued to mock her.

"You're not actually listening to her, are you?" Scorpius drawled so low only Rose could hear.

"Who?"

"Sinistra, of course! All we have to do is memorize the bloody map and we can pass."

Rose brought down her constellation map and twisted her neck so that she could face him beside her, "And what am I supposed to do for the length of this evening? We're supposed to be here until before dawn."

"I don't know," Scorpius shrugged. "Have you ever tried conversing with me with civility?"

"No. I don't have time for such nonsense."

"Nonsense, huh?" he mused. "Tell me honestly; you can't stand me but you love being around me."

"Can you explain in what way?" Rose challenged.

"I stimulate you."

"_Stimulate_?" she hissed incredulously.

Scorpius checked what Professor Sinistra was doing; she was busy making neon red traces of the constellations' outlines above them and at the same time explaining each constellation's mythological stories, so that her attention was not to the students. He slightly raised half of his torso and supported himself with his left elbow planted on the floor so that he was facing and talking to Rose directly.

"Yes, I do." He whispered with a half-grin half-smile. "Do you think I don't notice how much livid and alive you are whenever I am in near contact?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Rose muttered, trying to focus hard on the sky.

"See! There it is!"

"What?"

"Your eyes are filled with _sparks_…" he commented dramatically.

"Sparks? Merlin, can you please just stop it? I can't concentrate!"

Scorpius edged closer so that he was almost whispering in her ear. Rose jerked away, looking at him alarmingly. "You can't concentrate?"

Rose composed herself and gave him a glare. "Leave me alone," she said through gritted teeth.

Scorpius smirked and lied back down on his mat.

"This is why I can't be civil with you," Rose suddenly professed. "You act like you could always catch me off guard, like you already know how vulnerable I can be. Well, I'm not that easy to handle."

The blond was slightly taken aback after Rose's musings. "Deep thinking, Weasley."

"Rose."

"That's what I said," Scorpius sighed and stared at the sky, like Rose did.

"…Scorpius—"

"Yes, professor?" he bolted upright and twisted his body to glance at the Astronomy teacher.

"Whatever are you doing, dear boy?" she said as the whole class giggled. "I was merely telling the names of the constellations included in the zodiac? Or perhaps you feel that you have no need of my class as you busy yourself with your own dilly-dallying?"

"No, professor" Scorpius said.

"Well, then I suggest that you keep quiet and listen in order to understand the lesson—"

"Burn!" Rose breathed next to Scorpius.

"—I know you and Miss Weasley over there are having your own discussion. Now then, what was I saying? Oh yes, zodiacs. Scorpius is also known as Scorpio, mind you that. Then there is also Cancer, Capricorn, Leo, Virgo…"

"Who's burned now?" Scorpius said after their professor's remark where in Rose was mentioned.

Rose kept a firm expression and had her eyes back at the sky.

"So it bothers you," Scorpius breathed beside her. "That I act like I can catch you off guard?"

"It _infuriates_ me," Rose corrected.

"Pray, tell how?"

Rose paused for a second before answering him. "I'm not like the other girls you meet, Scorpius. And I'm not being dramatic either. You can't charm me just like that. I'm not the one who'd fall in a trap if I know it could harm me—"

"You think I'm charming you? You think I'm some sort of trap that could harm you?" Scorpius smiled, amused. Both of them still hadn't looked at each other as their eyes were fixed on the sky.

"Not entirely," Rose scowled impatiently. "I mean, you just can't expect that I'd react the same way as the others would around you—"

"I'm not expecting you too, honestly…You're too idiosyncratic, shall we say, for expectations."

"Let me finish first, would you? What I was trying to say is that you act too all-knowingly around me. I can't stand it."

Scorpius processed all he heard before responding. "Then maybe that's why I came to my observation, that I stimulate you. Maybe I come off to you as a threat—"

"No!"

"Ssh!" Scorpius said while he raised his head to see if the professor noticed them. However, Professor Sinistra only continued talking about some constellation Scorpius didn't bother about. "Alright, not a threat but a challenge."

Rose relaxed and seemed to accept his idea, which made him continue. "I perceive you as a challenge too, don't worry."

"Hmmm," Rose sounded. "Alright…but I'll make his clear for you: you can never catch me off guard. You can never make me do whatever you bid. You are not superior to me and I will never consent to let you see another side of me that is so willing for you. I assure you that."

"Whatever you say."

After that, they fell silent and resorted to listen to their teacher's lesson. Long minutes have passed and judging by the silence, it looks like more or less than half of the students were already drowsing off. Professor Sinistra merely discussed one constellation after the other without checking to see if her students are still awake. Scorpius, meanwhile, spent his time assessing the conversation he and Rose had.

_What did she mean I acted too all-knowingly around her?_ He thought. _And she said she will never let me see some part of her willing for me. So does that mean that there exists such side?_

He chuckled to himself and continued deliberating. She said he'll never catch her off guard? What exactly did that mean? He moved his head to Rose's direction. Scorpius saw that she was still staring up at the sky. He poked her shoulder to get her attention, but she remained motionless.

Scorpius twisted around to check again the teacher, and saw that she was occupied with reciting to the class the latitude and longitude of specific constellations. He propped himself on his left elbow again and neared his face to Rose's. He saw that her eyes were closed and she was breathing rhythmically. Scorpius drew away a lock of red hair away from her face and laid back, still maintaining his eyes fixed on her face.

He had seen her asleep many times before but it felt different now that he was lying beside her with more or less than a foot between them. Rose's hand slipped from its grip on her sweater and fell limply and soundlessly on the floor, as if it was waiting for somebody else's hand. Scorpius reached for it, with good and sincere intentions, to place it back on her slowly rising and falling abdomen. Once he withdrew his hand, Rose turned over to his direction and stretched her left hand across so that it rested on Scorpius' chest.

"The fu—"

Rose's hand flew to his mouth, her palm pressing on Scorpius' lips. Scorpius gently pulled her hand away from his face, despite his disconcertedness. Rose took control of her own hand and gripped Scorpius' collar. She pulled herself closer to him.

"Bloody hell," Scorpius muttered. He raised his head and looked around, debating whether he should inform anyone or deal with the matter on his own. He decided that attention was not ideal in their case at the moment so he carefully uncoiled Rose's fingers from his shirt.

"Rose, are you really asleep?" he whispered as he worked on her fingers, which were putting up a silent fight.

Scorpius took his right hand and cautiously lifted Rose's left eyelid. Her eyeball rolled lazily in its socket. She was definitely asleep. "Wake up!" he said lowly. He shook her and prodded her with as minimal movements as possible so as not to attract any attention from anyone.

It appears that Rose is a heavy sleeper. Scorpius became still after efforts of waking her while Rose tightened her hold on Scorpius. Her hand worked its way to his neck and his jaw and caressed it tenderly as if she held a furry little pet. Scorpius' skin prickled, whether in delight or in weirdness, he cannot discern.

Next, Rose's hand slowly went down on his chest, where it stayed put, right above his heart. Scorpius felt more conscious than ever. He got his right hand and tried to pull again hers away, but she held tightly on his shirt. In the process, however, Rose's fingers were able to trap Scorpius' littlest finger within its grip. Scorpius realized this but did not try to tug away. Instead, he unsurely rested his hand on top of hers. He felt her hand ease and his heartbeat quicken. Scorpius finally caught her off guard. He allowed that contact for the next few moments before—"

"Scorpius—"

"It wasn't my fault!"

He stood up as swiftly as possible, pushing Rose's hand away so hard that it landed on the floor with a distinct popping sound.

"Ow!" Rose woke up and heaved herself up in a sitting position with her right elbow as her right hand clutched her left wrist while wearing a very pained expression.

"I did not call you, Mr. Malfoy," Professor Sinistra said sternly. "We were on the start of discussion about the constellation Scorpius' stars and if you were listening, you shouldn't have reacted in that way. That's evidence that you were really not listening. Five points from Ravenclaw. Miss Weasley, what's wrong, child?"

The rest of the class who were sleeping stirred awake after those who have been earnestly listening elbowed them to inform that the teacher is passing by. Professor Sinistra reached Rose. Scorpius realized what's wrong with her and crouched down, not knowing what to do.

"Let me see," the professor said hastily. "What happened here?"

I don't know," Rose answered confusedly. "I was sle—I mean—I don—"

"I fell asleep then Rose woke me up and then she was about to tell me how the lecture was going when you said Scorpius, I thought you called me and I panicked and I stood up and stepped on her wrist by accident," he said in one breathing, though he sounded very convincing. "It wasn't her fault."

"Well, Mr. Malfoy!" Professor Sinstra said, outraged. "Your senseless actions have caused injury to your classmate, though not a serious one, but still an injury! Detention, I think, would do you well. See me in my office tomorrow evening before our second class starts. Miss Weasley, I suggest you go to the hospital wing and let Madam Pomfrey fix your wrist. Mr. Malfoy, accompany her and please don't step on and snap her other wrist."

Rose went down the spiral staircase of the Astronomy Tower without the intention of waiting for or even acknowledging Scorpius, who still was thinking about her hand between his chest and his own hand. When they were only two corridors away from the hospital wing, Rose turned around with an uncertain visage.

"What exactly happened?" she said with furrowed brows.

"You were really asleep," Scorpius pondered. "You…well—you…as I told before, it was—was an accident."

"I don't think I'd like to find out," Rose shook her head at the floor. "I know I should thank you because I surely didn't want the professor to know I fell asleep. Oh, how stupid of me! But—"

"I broke your wrist so you feel no obligation whatsoever to thank me," Scorpius finished. "I know. Come on, we better get you to Pomfrey." He added as he saw Rose grimace after she tried to move her wrist. They continued to walk, but this time, they walked side-by-side.

"You seem quiet," Rose observed. "Usually, you'd tease me about this." She held up her broken wrist. "How weak I am or whatever nasty."

"Do you have with you a teddy bear whenever you go to bed?" Scorpius suddenly asked her.

"What?" Rose said. "Er—yeah, when I was little. I refused to go to bed without it."

"How about now?"

Rose frowned to this unusual interrogation. At first she suspected that Scorpius must be thinking of using the information he wanted to acquire to humiliate her, but seeing his face and hearing the tone of his voice as he asked, it went contradicting to her suspicion. Scorpius appeared to be only curious, however, with a deep reason.

"Why are you asking this?" she countered his question. Scorpius shrugged. "No, I don't have one now. Victoire told me when I was ten that I was growing up and well…you get it. But I do miss having something to hug and caress and just, I don't know, hold, I guess, whenever I sleep. My first year at Hogwarts and I couldn't sleep, I remember that…"

She would've felt embarrassed about admitting this personal matter, but she saw Scorpius' warm smile. "What?" she asked him, smiling herself.

"Hands are made for holding," he said pensively. "I'm sorry about your wrist. I didn't mean it. You know I prefer verbal arguments, but nothing below the belt. I just really love making you uncomfortable with my knack for mocking."

"Erm…understood," Rose said, bewildered.

They arrived at the doors of the hospital wing and Scorpius urged her to go inside.

"I don't understand why Sinistra insisted for you to accompany me. I mean, it's not like I can't get here by myself with only one wrist functioning efficiently," Rose said sourly.

"It's okay," Scorpius said. "It's my fault."

The redhead frowned. "Stop being nice. It's unnatural and creepy."

"I'll see you," he nodded once with his hands in his pocket.

"Alright," Rose said.

"Er, Rose?"

"Yeah?"

Scorpius smiled, "…Nothing…" He left hastily.

Rose scowled. "What a freak."

* * *

><p><em>Apologies for wrong grammars and spellings.<em>


	5. Sleepeating

_Chapter 5_

* * *

><p><em>When: 6th year (Halloween)<em>

_Where: Kitchens_

_What: Sleep-eating_

Scorpius watched Rose incredulously as she devoured a bowlful of chocolate tarts, after finishing two giant lollipops, after eating more or less than three feet of licorice, after engulfing blocks of smores, after consuming who-knows-what-else. And he knew that she hadn't had any proper dinner also.

"Waryukinat?" she asked with a trickle of chocolate syrup on her chin.

Scorpius pointed at it with a grimace and smirked when she was able to wipe away the sweet smear. "Very classy, Rose."

"What?" Rose said. "You've never seen a girl eat this much before?"

"A girl, no," he replied in a disgusted tone. "A flobberworm, however….well, that's a different story. You somehow remind me of it, actually."

"That's nice, a flobberworm," Rose said. "I remind you of your girlfriend."

"Calm down, Rosie," said Albus, who came from the Gryffindor table to seat beside her. "You remember the times you overdosed with chocolate?"

"I don't overdose," Rose replied in a high-pitched defensive voice, then attacked a honey-and-chocolate flavored mini cupcake.

"What happens?" Scorpius asked with shining eyes.

Albus looked at Rose concernedly, "She…she goes crazy—"

"She's always crazy," his eyes raked the Great Hall for the sake of doing something else rather than watch Rose mercilessly gobble things. Then his eyes met an approaching figure from their own house. "Speaking of crazy…"

Rose and Albus turned their heads to the direction of Scorpius' gaze. Albus laughed mischievously and stood up, "Whenever she's around, there's always drama. See you guys…"

Violet Hansen, a fifth year Ravenclaw prefect, daughter of Lavender Brown and some bloke we shouldn't care about, came running and squealing towards Rose. She sat beside her with a big bright beam on her powdered face and eyed her excitedly.

"What?" Rose asked monotonously.

"_Well_…" Violet began in a sing-song voice. Then she squealed and giggled. "Ben and I are doing it tomorrow night!"

"Doing what?" Rose asked stupidly.

"_It_," she said with her eyes twinkling.

"You're going to tutor him?"

Violet slapped the table enthusiastically and giggled. "No, you old lady!" she neared her head to Rose's and whispered conspiratorially, "We're going to—"

"Ben Wheelers?" Scorpius interrupted. "You're going to do it with that loser?"

Rose realized what was going on. "But you're fifteen! Only fifteen!"

"And so is he," Violet said smugly.

"Why are you even telling me this? I can't give you any pre-shagging advice. I wish to remain in abstinence until marriage."

Scorpius snorted. "How inspirational."

Violet rolled her eyes. "No, Rose. I don't want any advice which you obviously can't give. I need to switch duty schedules. I'm scheduled for rounds in the dungeons tomorrow night, which I can't do since—"

"Okay, okay, no more details. So you want me to do your rounds tomorrow and you do mine tonight?" Rose said, nibbling on a piece of Red Vines.

"Exactly,"

"You'll be—you'll be doing rounds with me?" Scorpius asked.

"Oh right," Violet said, giving him a considering look. "You're assigned tonight too."

Scorpius bit grudgingly on an apple. "Problem?"

The fifth year smiled as sweet as the caramel doughnut Rose was now swallowing. "Nothing."

"Good.

"Now, you two," Violet said. "I'm off….bye!"

She skipped her way towards the Hufflepuff table, where her boyfriend was. Rose made a face and went back at eating another doughnut. "She's mental, really. Absolutely mental. She's fifteen, for Merlin's sake!"

Scorpius merely watched Rose mutter things and eat sweets.

"Honestly, when I was her age, I was happy to curl up beside the fireplace, reading a good book. Really—"

"So you wish to abstain—"

"None of your business but yes!" Rose snapped hardly on Scorpius. "Goodness, kids these days…they just can't wait."

"You two aren't fighting again, are you?" Albus reappeared beside Rose.

"No," Scorpius answered cheerfully. "We're only having a colorful conversation about the younger generation's free time agenda, that's all."

But Albus didn't care to listen because—"Red Vines!"

That night, Scorpius saw Rose in the common room before he could leave to go for his prefect duties. She remained in her seat by the fireplace, her head lolling sideways, while the few students who stayed awake chattered and made their assignments. He meant to wake her up, but he liked the sight, so he left her, got down the Ravenclaw Tower and headed straight to the threshold of the dungeons, where he was to meet Violet.

"Great, you're here," she said. "How's Rose?"

"Asleep," Scorpius said with a hidden smile as they started walking through the torch-lit corridors.

"I'm surprised."

"Why?"

"Rose ate all those sugary things and she still was able to fall asleep," Violet said importantly. "Well, that's Rose, right? You expect something and then something happens differently."

Scorpius bit his lip to refrain from smiling so wide. He cleared his throat to initiate the change of topic, "So, you and Ben, huh?"

But with the subject course he chose, he knew that the conversation wouldn't apply much to his liking. He regretted asking his question as soon as it came out of his mouth.

Violet giggled. "I know! But I'm really nervous! Merlin, it would be my first time! So, alright, I know Rose doesn't have any experience related to _it _but I bet you do! Any advice?"

He scoffed. "I don't have any. And quit scouting for one. Rose is right, you're all too young for that—"

"Yeah, you're talking. How many girlfriends have you banged?"

"None. Girlfriends aren't my priority right now. No time for—"

"But you've been seen with girls!" Violet reasoned immaturely.

"I've tried my interest in that field," Scorpius said. "The attempt was a failure."

Violet gasped. "You're not gay, are you?"

"No!" Scorpius said. "I just don't want to waste my time snogging girls and breaking hearts—"

"Phew! That's good. What a waste you would've been if your orientation was a contrast to your _muy_ _machoness_."

Scorpius shook his head as Violet continued to speak.

"Girls drool for you. You're one of the smartest kids in class, you're the new Quidditch Captain, you're a Prefect, not to mention, you're vying for the Head Boy position! And you're filthy rich. No one cares about your family's past—"

"Point?"

Violet sighed. "You should use your built-in womanizing weapons for your advantage."

Scorpius dug his hands in his pockets and squinted in the dim corridors. He shrugged and shook his head again, "I don't know…I guess I'm in no hurry. Maybe I'm just still…kind of…looking around for that one person who—oh Merlin, I sound like a pansy!"

"No no! This is actually good! We're talking about emotions and desires—"

"Exactly!" Scorpius scowled as they turned a bend.

"Do you want me to talk about Ben or do you want to talk about your thoughts?"

"Are girls always like this?" Scorpius muttered. "Alright…we'll talk about thoughts, whatever…"

Violet clapped her hands. "Okay, go ahead; what were you saying about that one person?"

The two prefects slowed down their pace as Scorpius pondered. What did he want? "Well…that one person….I think—it's hard. The girls I meet are all the same. It gets boring. I just want to meet that person who—you know…a surprise, she should be a surprise."

Violet nodded slowly, considering the information she just heard. "That should be a little hard."

Scorpius shrugged and yawned. "Aren't we doing rounds in the dungeons and the kitchens? The whole of them?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Can we just split up?" he asked. "To do the work faster?"

The fifth year peered at Scorpius with narrow eyes and a knowing smile. "You just don't want to talk further on, do you?" She sighed in surrender. "Fine. We'll meet at the stairs after five minutes or so. I'll do the dungeons. You go to the kitchens."

"Alright," Scorpius said happily. He made to turn towards the kitchens while his co-prefect continued walking through the corridors of the dungeons. He whistled as he went around the territory of Hufflepuff. And then after a few moments, he arrived at the corridor where the painting of the ticklish pear was. The painting, which was the entrance to the kitchens, stood ajar.

Scorpius stopped on his tracks abruptly, letting his whistled tune echo through the eerie hallway. He found it unlikely that a house-elf would leave the painting open. He neared the door quietly, hoping to catch the culprit red-handed (if there were any culprit). He squeezed himself through the little space of the opened door, fearing that if he pushed it farther open, it might creak and alarm the out-of-bed student. He glanced around vigilantly, but found no one, except the usual objects he has seen every time he sneaks in with Albus to get a few snacks. He calmed down a bit and walked through the huge room, thinking of having a midnight snack before he could continue his prefect duty.

"Good evening, sir."

As he expected, an elf greeted him. The elf asked whether he fancied a piece of pie. Other house-elves slowly gathered around him, holding up dishes of food for him to reach. Scorpius was about to reach for a muffin when a silhouette by the fireplace at the end of the room caught his eye. He threw the muffin back at the basket one house-elf was holding and called, "Oi! You there!"

The out-of-bed student ignored him and continued his business by the fireplace. House-elves who offered food were also surrounding the student. Scorpius pushed past the little elves and walked quickly to the fireplace.

"You!" he said, not realizing who he was talking to. "What're you doing? It's past curfew! Do you kno—_you_!"

Rose was zombie-ishly devouring a cake, her eyes fixed on the floor.

"Rose?" Scorpius asked. He was familiar with the blank expression Rose had. She wore that same expression once last year when they were in the midst of a Potions project, where in Rose broke in the boys' dormitories and…well…Scorpius knew that calling her and trying to talk some sense to a sleeping Rose wouldn't really help.

"Excuse me," he told the house-elves quietly as he made his way beside Rose. He took away the cake from her chocolate-smeared hand and planned to lead her out of the kitchens, but Rose snarled and shoved him away. She grabbed a treacle tart from an elf and slumped on the ground, bringing her knees against her chest and looking contented with her environment. The elves seemed gleeful with Rose's actions, and some of them called out to the others to bring in more sweets.

Scorpius started to panic as house-elves swarmed around Rose, pushing him further away from her. "Rose!" he said. "Agh, you stupid cow!"

He tried to walk over the heads of the elves, but their skinny arms and bat ears tripped him. The elves jumped out of the way as he fell to the ground. He got on his hands and knees and started to crawl towards Rose (because the elves crowded themselves again, making it hard for Scorpius to stand up). He reached Rose, half of her face and both her hands soiled with syrup, chocolate and bits of crumbs. She remained sitting and eating, not even able to glance at Scorpius. The elves, overjoyed with Roses' apparent love for their service, got more and more enthusiastic. They pushed Scorpius away with a few of them saying, "Pardon, sir."

"Oh—gerroff—we need—to—go!" He shunted the elves away, but there were too many of them. He tried to reach and take hold of Rose, who ignored him, and pull her away from the center. A house-elf suddenly pushed him from behind, making his arms give in and his face land some inches from Rose's feet. He took this opportunity to immediately crawl right in front of Rose, and once he was able to kneel directly in front of her (while pushing the elves away from both of them), the same elf who pushed him accidentally thumped him on the small of his back. He tumbled towards Rose, having their faces merely an inch away from each other's. The elves stopped their ruckus and silence fell, as if they knew what was going on in Scorpius' mind.

Rose lifted her eyes in level with Scorpius'. They were still blank, but Scorpius felt different. Actually, he felt different for a long time now, but that difference was more pronounced at that moment than ever. His gaze flew on her mouth and then he wondered how the maple syrup on her face tasted like. He caught himself before he could even find out, and instead, brought his hand to her face and wiped the smear away. He looked at her eyes again, still blank, and then at her mouth. He pushed himself closer to her with his hands planted on the ground. There was still a slur of chocolate left a couple of millimeters away from the right-hand corner of her lips. If he could just…

The house-elves gasped and 'aawed' silently as Scorpius gave Rose a light kiss near her mouth. He drew his face away from her slowly, watching her eyes closely if ever she was awakened. But, to his relief, she was not. A ghost of a forcibly hidden smile played on his lips. Then, he noticed how quiet and spacious it was; he found out that the house-elves watched the two of them while they stood at the sidelines. Scorpius cleared his throat awkwardly, stood up and heaved Rose upright. To his surprise, she did not resist or fight him. He took her gently by the hand and led her slowly out of the kitchens, making sure to close the hidden door of the painting behind. He was glad that Violet was not in their meeting place. He hurried going up the Ravenclaw Tower with Rose tagging behind him. They reached the common room.

Scorpius dropped Rose's hand and sat on the sofa by the fireplace. He smiled widely to himself, shaking his head as if to tell him that he was an idiot, though he was happy about it. He jerked when Rose sat behind him and rested her head on the arm of the sofa. Within seconds, she was breathing peacefully. He drew her hair from her face and saw that she was now fast asleep, with no abnormal sleeping phenomenon or anything. He leaned back, facing Rose, and closed his eyes.

"Hey," someone shook him awake. "Scorpius, wake up!"

Scorpius sat up groggily and tried to see through dark; the fire in the fireplace has been extinguished. Rose's dark form loomed over him.

"Huh?" he said unsteadily.

"I just woke up," Rose said. She looked on her hands in disgust. "What happened? Why are my hands covered in chocolate and…and is this maple syrup? And why are you asleep here?"

Scorpius snorted and straightened himself as Rose sat back. "I found you in the kitchens eating while I was doing rounds—" he stopped abruptly as he remembered how the bit of chocolate smear on the corner of Rose's mouth tasted like. He felt his face get hot. "Erm—what time is it?"

"I dunno," Rose answered distractedly. "You said I was eating?"

"Yeah—erm…but when I saw you I immediately brought you here. No other funny business."

"Okay…" she said. "Wait, where's Violet?"

Scorpius jumped on his seat and ran his hand through his hair, thinking. "What the hell…"

"Maybe she went back to bed?" Rose suggested.

Scorpius examined her for a few moments before making up his mind. "Yeah, probably. Come on, we better get to bed—I mean, to our own…_separate_ beds and not in one bed wherein we would lie down together, not that, no…"

Rose nodded her head awkwardly. "Yeah, alright."

"You go on first, go ahead." Scorpius watched her go upstairs looking bewildered.

Next morning, he woke up before any of the Ravenclaw students could, and waited for Violet in the common room. Students were waking up and going down to the Great Hall for breakfast, among them was Rose. She looked at him strangely, shaking her head and muttering to herself as she passed him by. After a few moments, Violet went down from her dorm. Scorpius rushed to her and said, "Last night—"

"You were with Rose, I know," she said as a matter-of-factly. "I actually forgot to go to our meeting place and instead I went up straight after my rounds. I found you and Rose sitting asleep on the sofa. I didn't want to wake you up. It was a really cute thi—"

"People could hear you!"

Violet squealed, "Speaking of being overheard, I heard Rose tell her friend about her strange dream last night. She dreamt that she was in the kitchens eating to her heart's content and getting kissed by someone. When she woke up, her hands were dirty with chocolate and syrup."

"Wh—who did, er, kiss her? Did she say?"

"Nope, she didn't, but by the look on her face, she's in close relation with this person and it kind of disturbed her a bit," Violet shrugged.

"Distrubed…" Scorpius said dejectedly, more to himself.

"You don't have anything to do with it, do you?" the fifth-year asked mischievously.

Scorpius waved his hand in irritation and went down to eat his breakfast, where he saw Rose, whose face brightened when he arrived.

"Rose, do you want chocolate?" Scorpius heard Albus ask her. Rose cringed and left the Ravenclaw table. "Bad morning, that girl has." Albus told Scorpius as he sat down for breakfast. "Want some?"

He smiled and accepted his friend's offer. Albus went back to the Gryffindor table while Scorpius bit on his chocolate. It tasted exactly like—

"Never mind," Scorpius shook his head.

* * *

><p><em>Apologies for wrong grammars and spellings.<em>

_Okay, so shoot me now because I have never even proofread this thing yet. I merely typed this and then woosh, publish. But anyways, I feel like such an idiot about being gushy and giddy regarding that little light kiss Scorpius gave Rose. Haha. My heart melts for those cute things. I tell you, my love life is nonexistent but I feel the rage of hormones when it comes to literature. I'm sure you do too. Just ranting._


	6. Sleepcrying

_Shalom._

_There's kind of a missing chapter between this one and the previous one (Sleep-eating). If you wanna know what that is, I suggest you read _Bloody Bludger_. But you could or could not read that oneshot, but still, I command you to._

* * *

><p><em>When: 6th year, February<em>

_Where: Hospital Wing_

_What: Sleep-crying_

It was simply one of the best feelings he ever felt. No, it was the best, hands down. And he couldn't believe he did it. Just like that. That confusing second he realized that he just might be falling in love with her, that torturous period he convinced himself that he was just undergoing hormonal fluctuations due to the heavy workload of Prefect duties, academic requirements, Ravenclaw Quidditch team captaincy and other whatnots which go with being a gifted teenager…and those tumultuously tempting and terrible moments wherein he just couldn't resist staring at her and marveling why it took him so long, those moments when she starts smiling over what she was reading in her book, when her forehead creases because of her mistranslation of a rune, even when she just stares at something, probably pondering about what she'd like to eat for lunch or maybe about her Charms essay or maybe just about…well, whatever she was pondering about….those simple moments, when time seem to be too slow and too fast at the same time…those moments were bliss, heavenly bliss.

For instance, now, the exact moment Rose and Scorpius are in. Scorpius had already seen her flying because of the special one-on-one training he offered Rose before the replacement try-outs for a Chaser, but this glorious moment, where the little rays of sunshine, which were able to peak behind the grayish fluffy forms of clouds, sent a resplendent glow to her skin, hair and eyes twinkling with nervousness.

"Oi! You! Captain, the game is starting!"

The voice of the Ravenclaw Seeker, Lorcan Scamander, came muffled to his ears, which were only hearing the hard and happy beats of his flittering heart, which would seem to take flight from his chest with the velocity of a speeding bullet.

"Right…yeah…" Scorpius said distractedly as everyone from the teams of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw waited for him to join the airborne circle a few feet above from where Madam Hooch was standing with the Quaffle to be released from her hand.

"Malfoy, are you alright?" Madam Hooch called out sternly. "Hurry up, will you?"

"S—sorry," Scorpius said. He took care not to glance behind him, where Rose was hovering.

Somewhere above him, Lorcan hollered, "It was probably a bad idea to smooch!"

"What is he talking about?" James, the opponent Quidditch captain of the match, said audibly.

But Madam Hooch interrupted any answer being made with an angry tone. "Mr. Malfoy, you're still not in position!"

The whole members of the Ravenclaw team groused with the exception of a very much distracted Scorpius and a flushed and silent Rose.

Kissing Rose before the big Ravenclaw versus Gryffindor match was probably not the smartest move Scorpius made; now he was all light-brained.

"Scorp, what's going on?" Albus, the Gryffindor seeker, asked loudly above him. He definitely noticed something's off.

"Are we going to have the match or does everybody want to head to my office, drinking tea and talking about life's adversities and how to get past them?" Madam Hooch bellowed harshly.

"I—I'm sorry! Everything's fine, yeah…" Scorpius said in a strong voice, because, yes, everything _is _fine, perfect…lovely…

The Quaffle was thrown in the air without further ado and a blur jungle of red and blue happened airborne. Scorpius' veins were filled with adrenaline rush, and not because of the game. He wanted to see Rose fly on her broom; maybe if he could grab the Quaffle from Lily, one of the Gryffindor Chasers, then pass it onto Rose…

"Oooh! Harsh shot from Louie Moscovitz, one of the Gryffindor beaters," Landon Jordan's commentary echoed despite the vociferous cheers of the audience. "Oh no, Rose Weasley, the newest Ravenclaw Chaser is off her broom because of a Bludger! _Bloody_ _Bludger_, I've always wanted to say that. 'Tis a shame; it's only her first game…"

Scorpius' heart skipped a beat or two upon hearing the words _Rose_, _off her broom_ and _Bludger_ all in one morbid sentence. And his heart was not the only one to malfunction for a second; almost the whole of the Gryffindor team, which is, by the way, consisted of six of Rose's cousins, stopped paying attention to the game when they saw Rose sprawled on the ground lifelessly. Their faces were drained of blood.

"I'm sorry!" Louie said hysterically, for he knows that the Potter-Weasley lineage can get pretty protective. "The Bludger wasn't supposed to be for her!"

"She'll be alright!" James shouted to his teammates, albeit half-heartedly, and went back to the game reluctantly; he was the captain after all, and being in the sport practically since birth, he was bound to know that accidents happen all the time. After all, he had probably gotten worse accidents.

Eventually, after hearing the Gryffindor audience's violent grumbling, the players started to get back to the game. Well, when you're in a Quidditch hype, especially that less than a minute in the game and someone has already flow off of her broom, of course it would be dissatisfying to see all the players pause in midair simultaneously. But Scorpius ignored the audience and the proceeding of the match; Rose was right there, more than a hundred feet below him, unmoving, almost corpse-like. He made to fly down after her.

"She'll be fine, Scorp," Lorcan called to him as he passed by while doing a reconnaissance for the Goldent Snitch. Scorpius stopped and merely hovered, however, his knuckles were white with gripping the broomstick handle tightly.

"Don't worry, Scorp," someone said, though sounding unconvinced with his own words. Albus hovered beside him, his face pale, probably just like his. "Look, she's already being placed on a stretcher."

And indeed, Rose was, but Scorpius was still not reassured.

"Scorpius, come on!" One of the Ravenclaw Chasers said as he rushed pass him.

"Look, we'll finish the game as fast as possible, okay?" Albus told him emergently. "I doubt that my brother and sister and cousins care who wins the game now. Pretty sure they want to see Rose right away. Alright, mate?"

Albus clapped his friend's back and zoomed away, looking for the Snitch urgently. Scorpius tightened his grip on his broomstick and rejoined the match.

.

The game ended fast enough, with the points of two hundred to sixty, in favor of Gryffindor. Flanked by the Potters and the Weasleys, Scorpius hurried to the hospital wing, his heart pounding and his blood roaring in his ears. Rose couldn't be in a serious accident now; he just kissed her! He just basically made known his truest and deepest feelings for her! But more importantly, Rose should not be in pain now! He knew he wouldn't be able to stand seeing her hurt.

Madam Pomfrey screeched in utter outrage as a pack of Rose's blood relations plus a prospective beau came rushing inside the room, all having anxious and colorless faces.

"For goodness' sakes, children," Madam Pomfrey shrieked. "Control yourselves! Miss Weasley is not going to die!"

"We wanna see her!"

"How bad was her fall?"

"When is she gonna wake up?"

"Did she break any bones?"

"Gah! Why is there blood on her face?"

"Blood?" Scorpius echoed dumbly after hearing Hugo. He pushed pass Rose's relatives towering over the patient's bed and peered. There _was_ blood on her face.

"Calm down or I shall send you all out," the nurse said severely. "There's only a cut on her bottom li—"

"But that's a lot of blood," Roxanne breathed, looking as if she were about to faint.

"It was her bottom lip and also a ruptured blood vessel in her nose. Goodness me, let me finish! It was a pretty bad fall, but I've handled worse than hers. She sprained an ankle, and there's a broken rib too. There are also bruises. Also, she acquired a pretty nasty concussion and I am still not sure when she'll wake up, my pre—"

"She's in a coma?" Lily wailed.

"Certainly not! I was saying that my presumptions would be that she'll wake up after a couple of days or a week," Madam Pomfrey finished sternly. "Now, it wouldn't help her if all of you breathed down on her. I will only allow three persons per visit, that's all. All of you, out now! Out!"

Everyone was herded outside the room by Madam Pomfrey, and then she went back inside muttering about how much she had enough of Quidditch. The Weasleys and the Potters all looked at each other forlornly and headed to their dormitories. Albus and Scorpius, meanwhile, remained stationary.

"Don't worry too much, Scorp," Albus said quietly.

Scorpius wetted his dry and pale lips. "It's just—I…" He shook his head.

"I kinda get it," Albus said, which made Scorpius look at him strangely. "I mean, when she wakes up, you couldn't really kiss her hard because of that cut on her lip."

If it was any more possible, Scorpius got even paler. "Wh—I—how—di—wha—"

"Chill, man. I was just trying to make you laugh," Albus sounded a shaky chuckle. "But Lorcan did tell me how you tenderly kissed Rose before the game."

"When did he tell y—"

"He sort of slipped up before the two of us spotted the Snitch," he answered. "Well, see you later. I suggest you kiss her on the cheek if you just can't resist."

Albus left with a kind smile on his face. Scorpius stayed, however. He leaned on the doorframe and laid his eyes on the motionless body of Rose on the far end of the room. His heart constricted painfully. It was just unfair; everything was going perfectly. He kissed her, they flew and they were supposed to win the match. But now that he thought about it, all of it seemed shallow. He didn't care about the game now. He'd rather lose a hundred Quidditch games than see Rose looking dead like that.

"Mr. Malfoy, I can't stand your melodramatic yearning," Madam Pomfrey commented from the medicine cupboards. "Please, just come in if it is just you. Stay here quietly for thirty minutes if all you're going to do is stare at my patient."

"Er, thanks," Scorpius croaked. He realized that his mouth had gone completely dry. He took one of the folding chairs propped on the wall and sat beside Rose's bed.

"I knew sooner or later you'd crack," Madam Pomfrey said.

"What?"

"Everyone notices it; you have a special eye for this Miss Weasley. It was only a matter of time before you admit it."

Scorpius gently reached and rested his hand on top of Rose's. He lightly moved his thumb back and forth against Rose's skin, caressing her cold knuckles and somewhat hoping for a response with even just a twitch of a finger or something. But nothing.

Madam Pomfrey went beside Rose's bed and waved her wand, wiping the bloodstains on Rose's face. "She'll be alright." She smiled at him warmly.

Scorpius nodded. As soon as the nurse was gone to the other room, Scorpius neared his face to Rose's bed and kissed her hand, taking care to breathe in her scent. He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against the back of her hand. _Please, just let her be alright_, he thought.

Not a day passed that he did not visit Rose in the hospital wing. He went before classes start, during break times and free periods, in the afternoon after classes finished and after dinner. He could have even brought his dinner inside the hospital wing if it weren't for Madam Pomfrey's strict rules that no food would be taken in unless it was for the patient. Scorpius neglected doing his homework until late at night, because he frequently stayed by Rose's bed. Madam Pomfrey was especially forgiving towards him, since visiting hours were only from nine to ten in the morning and from three to five in the afternoon. The Weasleys and the Potters thought it strange for Scorpius to often visit the still unconscious Rose, with the exception of Albus (since he knew the real reason why), however, they did not mind it. Nonetheless, it was Lily who noticed things first and confided it to her brother one day.

"Hey, Al," she said in a hushed voice after going out of the hospital wing. "I think Scorpius has finally realized his real fe—"

"Yeah, I know, I know. They snogged before the game."

Lily's eyes widened. "Oh my gosh…they_ what_?"

"Wow, for the first time, I was more updated than you were," Albus chuckled and went away.

James, meanwhile, blamed himself for his cousin's accident. "I knew it!" he exclaimed in a despairing voice when Ron and Hermione left after seeing how their daughter was doing. "If I just didn't tell her she was fat, she wouldn't have taken up the challenge and tried out for the Quidditch team! Then she wouldn't have gotten herself in this accident!"

"I'm sorry, you guys," Louie said. "The Bludger was supposed to hit Gillerns." He added, referring to one of the Ravenclaw Beaters.

"Hey, it's Quidditch," Dominique said consolingly. "Things like this usually happen, and besides, Madam Pomfrey said Rose will be fine. It's neither Louie's nor James' fault."

"I do feel bad though," Louie said sincerely. "I just remembered; I have to go to the greenhouses. I 've asked the Herbology club if I could get a pot of flowering plant for Rose. See you around guys. And sorry again."

"Good kid, good kid," Fred nodded.

"But seriously, I never expected Rose could get in the team," Hugo commented.

James then cried suddenly after realizing something, "You're right, Dominique! It's not my fault! It's that bloke's fault!"

Everyone looked at the direction where James was pointing; the Potters and the Weasleys saw Scorpius sitting on the Ravenclaw table, glumly forking his mashed potatoes.

"It's _his_ fault," James said grudgingly with narrowed eyes."

"You're touched in the head, mate," Albus laughed.

"No, listen, if he hadn't placed Rose in the team, then this wouldn't have happened! And also, he had been training her before the try-outs! How do we know that all of what just happened hadn't been some kind of plot to bring our Rosie's demise?"

Everyone stared at him, all except Lily and Albus, who were laughing as if their brother just cracked a joke.

"You doofus, Lily said breathlessly. "Why would he _plot to bring our Rosie's demise_? He can't do that! Just look at him."

Everyone again turned to look at Scorpius. Now he was just staring at his plate.

"Aaw, look at that," James' younger sister cooed. "He's heartbroken. He's taking it harder than any of us, can't you see that? It's sad…"

James spluttered as all of their cousins realized what was going on.

"You mean…?" Fred said disbelievingly.

"Oh my gosh," Dominique and Roxanne breathed simultaneously as they looked at each other.

"He's in love with her!" Lily exclaimed giddily. "And Rose probably feels the same!"

"Really, you guys, I can't believe you've only noticed _now_!" said Albus. "I mean, I sort of thought their love for each other is ubiquitous."

"Do you even know what ubiquitous means?" James snapped after recovering from his spluttering fit.

"Yeah, do you?" the younger Potter retorted, which made James mutter angrily under his breath. Albus continued smugly, "I've always noticed hoped that they'd settle everything."

"Of course you've noticed," Fred said. "Scorp's your best mate. But same here, I do hope they'd settle everything. And by settle everything, I meant they'd admit their feelings and love each other already."

"Well, everything would seem to go well after Rose's recuperation," Albus said matter-of-factly whilst dipping his fried chicken in gravy (every one of the Potters and the Weasleys seem to forget to eat).

"Why is that?" Roxanne asked.

"They've kissed—"

"WHAT!" Everybody said, which made people inside the Great Hall turn to their direction (except Scorpius because he was still staring at his plate).

"Uh-huh," Albus grinned. "Before the match, Scorpius kissed her. That was probably why he was very much distracted at the start of the match."

"Yeah, and Rose was looking strange too," Fred mused. He clapped his hand and beamed. "This is wonderful! I hope they make Einstein strawberry blonde babies!"

James slapped the back of his cousin's head, "No one's making babies! This is our Rosie who we are talking about!"

Fred only laughed while Dominique and Roxanne giggled at each other.

"That's so sweet!"

"Oh, I hope Rose would wake up now!"

"And I hope they'd be together!"

"You never told me that," Lily told Albus. "But, oh, I'm so happy for them!"

"You never asked."

"Hold on!" James banged his hands on the table. "Why am I the only one who's seeing that this could be a problem?"

"And why could this be a problem?" Albus said.

"Don't you want Rose to be happy?" Lily followed.

"Yeah, Scorp's a nice kid," Fred remarked.

"He'd be perfect for Rose!" exclaimed Roxanne.

"And she'd be perfect for him, too!" Dominique stated with passion.

Hugo shrugged, "I think my sister's romantic life is gross, but I guess Scorp's cool."

"I just thi—he's to blame—"

"It was an _accident_," Albus said slowly but with conviction. "As in nobody wanted it to happen. It just did."

"And you can't stop Rose and Scorpius, man," Fred said. "It's love; it's unstoppable and it's all we need."

"Since when did you go hippy?" Roxanne scoffed at her brother.

James craned his neck to take a look at Scorpius again. He was getting up and heading out of the Great Hall. "Where's he going?"

"Probably to visit Rose again," Hugo said nonchalantly after swallowing a mouthful of his spaghetti.

"You've got spaghetti sauce on your cheek, mate," Albus told Hugo, then turned to James. "Seriously, James, Scorpius is going to be the best one for Rose."

"Al, there's gravy on your chin," Hugo said. Albus wiped his chin and said thanks.

"Fine," James said in surrender. "If they love each other, eck, then whatever."

"Of course they love each other," Albus said. "They always have. They just showed it in a weird way all these years."

.

It had been the fourth night and Rose was still not awake. However, her broken rib and sprained ankle were already healed and her bruises were beginning to disappear too. Madam Pomfrey said that her concussion was pretty bad but not too bad; she'll just have a hard time remembering what happened before her fall but the nurse affirmed that she'll recover just as fine.

Scorpius was thankful, though this one bit troubled him a little; Madam Pomfrey said Rose will have a _hard_ time remembering what happened…and what exactly happened before she was unconscious was that he kissed her. Well, that and the Bludger.

He held her hand in one of his and, with his other hand, he caressed her hair. She was still looking pale. The only color on her face was the pink cut on her lips which seemed not to heal fast enough.

"Mr. Malfoy, I'm afraid it's time to go," Madam Pomfrey informed.

Scorpius sighed, stood up and got his things. He took a good look at Rose before exiting the hospital wing. He would've kissed her on the forehead but Madam Pomfrey was watching.

"Good night, ma'am," Scorpius said quietly and left.

He went straight to the Ravenclaw common room, where he tried to finish his remaining homework. But he found out, after serious attempts of writing a foot-and-a-half long essay about a chosen potion (in his case, the Veritaserum) that he couldn't concentrate. Ravenclaw students started to go to their dormitories to sleep, and it was already past eleven when he was completely alone.

Unlike what Albus told him, Scorpius knew he wasn't taking Rose's plight too hard, like exaggeratingly hard. He was just really concerned. It was Rose in the hospital wing, pale and out cold for crying out loud! Why were her cousins not at all distressed over that terrible fact? Albus told him that Madam Pomfrey assured them that Rose would be fine, so there wasn't really anything to worry about, since the Hogwarts nurse's word is like law. But, seriously, how in the world can Albus stand to see his cousin and best she-friend appearing so lifeless like that? Didn't it disturb him the least bit? Didn't it haunt him in his sleep and waking hours like how it haunted Scorpius? But, nevertheless, someone was sharing the same feeling with Scorpius about Rose's accident; James was in extremes upon Rose's mishap. He blamed himself for the predicament and swore that he didn't deserve to be Rose's cousin. Scorpius thought that James' taking the censure was ridiculous, but nonetheless, he was relieved that someone at least was feeling sensibly anxious about Rose.

He was staring at the fire, almost dozing off, when he heard a very vivid sound, like there was someone speaking behind him. "_Scorpius…Scorpius…_" it said.

Scorpius jerked upright and glanced around the common room. Nothing. No one. He checked his watch. It was already midnight. He strained his ears to hear anything else, but when he was about to think of himself ridiculous and that maybe he was just tired, he heard it again, only this time, fainter. Someone was calling his name. He knew who it is, but he didn't know how that happened. His skin prickled.

It urged him to go down the Ravenclaw Tower and go to Rose again; maybe he could just give her a goodnight kiss, a light one, since he wasn't able to when Madam Pomfrey told him it was time to go already. Maybe then, he could go to his bed peacefully.

On his way, however, he met James, who looked like he was heading back to the Gryffindor Tower from somewhere.

"Oh, it's you," James said vituperatively. "What are you doing, prowling in the castle at dark?"

"What's up with you?" Scorpius said with a frown.

"It's your fault Rose is hurt!" James almost wailed like a child. "Why did you even put her in the team? I reckon she's not _that _good! Well…not good enough for _you _anyway, but whatever!"

To which Scorpius replied calmly, "I placed her on the team because she was third best. The first two choices are unavailable."

"Yeah, but's still—"

"Why are you even blaming me? I thought you believed it's your doing because you said Rose doesn't have the right Quidditch abilities, making her try-out just to prove to you that she can do it."

"But you trained her and you gave her the spot! Admit it: it was a plot to cause her harm."

Scorpius chuckled and rubbed his cheek. "Seriously, mate, I did that to help her—"

"And I don't care if you've kissed her or what; I don't believe that you love her despite what Albus is telling!"

"What the hell?" Scorpius said, his eyes widening. "You know about that? Wh—"

"We all know, but I'm not falling for that. You hurt Rose on purpose!"

Scorpius scoffed. "Whoa, okay. First off, I didn't plan to hurt Rose. That's the stupidest thing I have ever heard. And why would I do that? Second, I think too much Quidditch addled your brain severely. Third, I care about Rose as much as you do, okay?"

Then, it was the last thing that Scorpius expected; James distorted his face painfully and sat down on the steps of the stairs, his hands raking his hair as if he wanted to tear it off his head. "I just really feel bad about it," James choked. And then words started to flow out from his mouth in an explosion like lava and ash from Mount PInatubo."Rose was mad at me for saying that she wasn't good at Quidditch, and she misinterpreted it and thought that I was saying she was fat. And she really was hurt! And then I found out she asked you to train her. I guess I was kind of jealous, because I consider myself like her older brother and I wanted to teach her Quidditch just like how I taught Lily. And I can't believe our little Rosie, who used to spend her time under the shade of a tree reading a book or watching us as we played a mini Quidditch game, is growing up and interacting with a boy whom she may actually like—and yes, kid, I'm talking about you! I mean, it's Lily Growing Up all over again, because you know that Lils got her first boyfriend at age fourteen and let me tell you, as an older brother, I'm not too thrilled about that. I maybe a raucous sneaky rule-breaking Potter but I still _am_ an older brother, a responsible one, and I guess being protective over my little girls just comes along with it. I really am just worried for Rose. I know she's not little anymore and is capable of defending herself, but I don't want anyone to hurt her."

Scorpius was taken aback from this kind of information, but really appreciated it. He sat beside an anguished James and patted his shoulder. "You're really a good brotherly figure, you know that?" he tried to console him. "I won't hurt Rose, I promise."

"So you do really love her?" James looked at him with deep eyes.

"I wouldn't be here trying to sneak in the hospital wing if I didn't," Scorpius replied with a slight smile. "I mean, though Madam Pomfrey was a bit soft to me since she knew what was going on between me and, er, Rose, she could get a hell lot of of nasty when she finds out I'm abusing late night hour's visitation."

James nodded solemnly after a minute's hard thinking. "I am convinced." He stood up and cleared his throat. "We would never speak of my emotional breakdown again. Ever."

Scorpius got on his feet too. "Yes, sir."

"And hurt a single red hair on Rose's head and you'd be six feet underground, understand?"

"Yes, sir."

James grinned and punched his shoulder. "I haven't always liked you before, but you're a good kid and I guess I could like you now. Now, you go to Rose."

"Yes, sir," Scorpius said, trying not to rub the pain away from his shoulder which James punched. When the eldest Potter was about to go, Scorpius stopped him with a question. "Where were you, James, before we met here?"

"Oh, I was at the kitchen, trying to drown down my guilt and apprehension with food," he replied. "And the elves give legit advices too."

Scorpius thought that James was a kooky guy. He then headed to the hospital wing without any more delay. There, still motionless yet looking like a complete angel, Rose lay on her white bed. The lamp gave her a glow that resembled that of which he saw from her during the first few moments in the Quidditch match, before the accident happened. He walked quietly to her bed, being careful not to wake up Madam Pomfrey, who was snoring quite loudly in the next room. He willed himself to make it just a short visit; a quick kiss then he was out. But he couldn't make himself do it. He couldn't take his eyes off her. He missed her so much, though she was only right there and had been unconscious for merely four days. He kept reminding himself that Quidditch accidents always happened and Rose was going to be fine. He held her cold hand and just stared at her longingly.

Rose was different; she stood out from all the girls that Scorpius met. Her little quirks always cheered him up, though now that he looked back, he knew that he didn't recognize Rose's effect on him. There was this kind of pheromonal attraction between the two of them that he failed to notice before. Perhaps he was too busy trying to think of comebacks when she says something to him? Or maybe he was just trying too hard not to give in to what he really felt? But now, he would give everything he felt, so long as Rose would be awake again, see her full of life and color.

More or less than fifteen minutes have passed and he still couldn't bring himself to leave her. He wasn't like this during the past three days of Rose's unconsciousness, but tonight he felt like he needed to be there, like Rose needed him to be beside her. It was Rose's voice that called him.

It took him a few seconds to notice that there were tears trickling down her face from her closed eyes. Scorpius felt like he just missed a stair step. He bent so that his head was near hers and saw that she was crying, really crying. Her brows were furrowed and she was sniffing quietly. Scorpius started to get really scared when Rose gripped his hand. She dug her fingernails on the mattress with her free hand as if she was trying to claw her way out of something, but her arm didn't move, just her hand.

"Rose?" Scorpius forced his voice to sound calm. He tapped her cheek softly, but she merely continued crying and choking on her breath. Scorpius fumbled his robes and took out his wand hastily. He pointed it towards Madam Pomfrey's door and said "_Muffliato_," then chucked it inside his pocket and attempted to wake Rose up.

"Rose, please wake up," he entreated, his voice starting to sound panicky. "Shh, shh, it's going to be alright. I'm here…please, don't cry. Wake up."

Rose had her eyes still shut, but she was still crying and shaking her head slightly while mumbling something. Scorpius hated seeing Rose act that way; it hurt him so bad. He lifted her by the back of her neck and embraced her, his mouth near her ear. "Rose, please…" His voice cracked.

Then he heard her gasp softly and felt her hands move and wrapped themselves around him. She was awake, but still crying. Rose buried her wet face on Scorpius' shoulder.

"Rose," he moaned in relief. "It was just a bad dream. You're awake, you're alright."

She shook her head and said in a muffled and thick voice, "I—I was falling a—and calling…I thou—thought I'd never…" Rose fingertips dug Scorpius' back desperately.

Scorpius kissed her neck once and then her forehead. He lifted Rose so that she could sit up and then he wiped her eyes, even if Rose kept her head bent low and hidden underneath her messy hair as she hiccoughed.

"I—I w—was calling h—him," she said and it gave Scorpius the impression that Rose's nightmare was still hanging over her reality, creating that panic and confusion one feels when he or she was fresh out from sleep.

"Rose, it's me," he lifted her face with his clammy hands. "You're safe now. You'd be fine."

"Scorpius," she breathed.

"Yes! I'm here, okay?" He wiped Rose's tears again and hugged her gently yet tenderly. But Rose pushed him away. Scorpius remembered what Madam Pomfrey said, about Rose forgetting temporarily what happened before the Bludger hit her, and was afraid.

"I'm sorry," her voice sounded like she was gradually getting sober from her nightmare. "I…I couldn't help it…it was scary." She whispered the last word as she closed her eyes and brought her hands to cover them.

"Hey," Scorpius said softly, pulling her hands away from her face.

"It was just a dream…" Rose continued whispering while hiccoughing. "I'm sorry I've gone lunatic like that…I—I…It felt real, and…oh, it was terrible." She hid her face from Scorpius, then she started crying.

"Rose, do you remember anything?" He tucked her hair behind her ear so that she could see her face.

She looked at him. "About what? The Bludger? My head still hurts."

"Lie down."

"No, it's alright."

"What about before the Bludger?"

"The game?" she sniffed thickly.

"Before the game?" Scorpius tried hard not to sound too eager. Then he found himself feeling glad after seeing Rose's pale face suddenly turn bright scarlet.

"Ah, my head hurts," she brought one of her hands over her forehead, making sure to slightly cover her eyes with it.

Scorpius laughed shakily. "It must be the sudden blood flow. Lie down."

Rose sniffed again. "It's fine." She removed her hand and stared at their intertwined hands. "Of course I do."

"Do what?"

Rose tightened her grip on Scorpius' fingers. "I do remember. Everything." She told him in a calm voice.

Scorpius sighed, relieved, and then kissed her forehead and buried his face on her hair. "Thank God…"

"So you meant that? Not just to perk up my game for Quidditch?" Rose asked meekly.

"Always wanted to do it. I meant it."

Rose snuggled closer to him. "How high was my fall?"

"More than a hundred feet, probably almost two hundred," Scorpius winced as he remembered it. "Does anything hurt?"

"My whole body does."

"Lie down."

"I told you, it's fine. Besides, I've been lying down for…how long now?"

"Four days."

"Merlin," she said in awe against Scorpius' chest. "How much bodily damage did I sustain?"

"A couple," Scorpius traced circles on her back, trying to distract himself as he felt pained just by telling her how physically hurt she had been. "Bruises, of course. Sprained ankle. Broken rib—"

"—Wow—"

"But Pomfrey fixed it in a second. You also had a pretty bad concussion. Pomfrey said you might forget things but you'll remember them soon."

"Well, I remember everything," Scorpius felt her smile. "But I do feel fuzzy—"

"Lie—"

"It's fine," Rose rubbed her cheek against his chest. "Is that all?"

"A ruptured blood vessel, but it's healed now. And you also have…" Scorpius broke their embrace and lifted her face by her chin. "…a cut. There, on your lip, right there."

He thumbed her bottom lip. "And it's taking its time to heal."

Rose thought he sounded annoyed. Scorpius cleared his throat and looked at her eyes. "What did you dream about? You said you were falling. And you were calling someone."

"Oh," Rose lowered her head.

"Come on, it's okay. Just tell me."

"I don't know, I was just falling nonstop. And I was calling you, but you weren't coming. It's silly, I know."

Scorpius pulled her close. "No, it wasn't. But it was just a dream, alright?"

Rose nodded.

"You said you were calling me?"

She moved her head uncomfortably on his shoulder then she moved away from him and looked at their hands. "Yeah," she sounded embarrassed.

"Just my name?"

"Yeah, why?"

Scorpius grinned and looked at their hands as well. "Before I came here, I was at the common room. Then I heard your voice calling my name, and…I knew I just had to come here, come to you…"

"Really?"

Scorpius lifted their holding hands and kissed her hand. He nodded.

"That's weird," Rose whispered. "You know what that reminds me of? Well, it's something about my mum and dad…when they were, erm, in cognito with Uncle Harry. You know, when they were looking for the Horcruxes…yeah, erm…"

Scorpius knew that story. Albus once told him.

"But you know what that reminded me of?" Scorpius asked her.

"What?"

"Mr. Rochester and Jane Eyre." He chuckled.

"Oh, beautiful book…" Rose sighed.

Scorpius looked at her lovingly. "You better rest. It's...already one in the morning," he said after checking his wristwatch.

"You have to go?" Rose sounded scared.

"I'll stay here until you fall asleep, if you want."

Rose smiled.

Scorpius placed his hand beneath her ear and moved closer. Rose closed her eyes and moved closer as well. Scorpius stared at her lips, longing for it, but was scared that he'd hurt her cut. He softly and cautiously kissed her bottom lip, where the wound was, and pulled back. "You could've been a capital Chaser."

"You're just saying that." Rose's eyes were still closed, but her lips were slightly stretched into a gentle smile.

Albus said a few days ago that if he couldn't resist, Scorpius should just kiss her on the cheek. But he just really _really_ couldn't. He gave her one more light kiss, and Rose kissed back lightly too. And then he gave her another one, and she kissed back. Rose pulled him closer and he gladly obliged.

But then Rose opened her mouth and out from it escaped a small gasp. She drew her head away and felt her lips with her fingertips.

"Shit, I'm sorry!" Scorpius exclaimed in a hushed voice, lifting her chin and taking a look at her lips.

Rose smirked. "Don't worry too much," she said. "How come my serious injuries are already cured but this simple lip-cut is not?"

Scorpius shrugged, distracted by Rose's cut. "Does it hurt that bad? Do you want me to look for medicine or something? Seriously, Pomfrey's overlooking the little things. I could get a cotton ball and maybe look for a potion. I can't believe I don't know any spell for—"

"Chill, Scorp. It doesn't hurt anymore. It just twinged suddenly, that's all."

"Twinged suddenly?" Scorpius said guiltily. "I think I nipped on it."

Rose snorted. "This is only our second kiss and we're having problems already. Seriously, it's fine."

Scorpius caressed her cheek (now with a little color on it) with his thumb. "I think you should rest now. I'll stay."

Rose merely stared at him.

"What?"

Rose looked amuse.

"Do you need something?"

Smiling, Rose shook her head and kissed him on the cheek. "Goodnight, Scorpius." She lied down on her bed and pulled the covers around her

"You sure you don't need something?" he said as he helped Rose make her bed comfortable. "Water?"

He reached for the glass of water on the tray beside her bed but his hand slipped and the glass shattered to pieces, the crash resounding loudly inside the room. "Great!"

Rose looked down at the floor and chuckled. Scorpius whipped out his wand to fix the mess, but before he could, both of them heard the school nurse in her room.

"What was that?" Madam Pomfrey called. She turned on the lights in her chamber and Scorpius and Rose saw her shadow moving inside. "Oh where's my robe?"

"But I casted a muffling charm!" Scorpius said.

"Go!" Rose said, pushing Scorpius off her bed. "If she finds you here, you'd be banned!"

"She can't do that! She knows I love you!"

Rose smiled and blushed, but realized that she shouldn't act lovey-dovey now. "Don't try her, Scorp!"

"Alright, but are you going to be fine?"

"Yes, yes. Now, go! You'll see me tomorrow, anyway. Go!"

Scorpius still looked reluctant about leaving, but he stood up.

"Oh wait a quick second," Rose said. She reached and grabbed Scorpius' forearm and pulled him down. She kissed him full on the lips and then released him. She beamed triumphantly. Her face was a bright crimson red.

"Did it hurt?"

Rose shook her head, making Scorpius grin.

"If anyone's out there troubling my patient…"

_Go_, Rose mouthed to Scorpius.

Scorpius hurried out of the room and flattened himself against the wall, listening.

"Goodness!" Madam Pomfrey said.

"I wanted to drink—"

"Miss Weasley, you're awake! Oh, thank goodness. Just let me check your temperature…"

Scorpius grinned and gazed heavenward. He was glad Rose was really fine.

"Your tonsils are not swollen. Do you feel sore? Does your heat hurt?"

"I feel kind of dizzy. And my body feels heavy, but I really am feeling alright."

"Mmhmm…you just lie down and rest, but just to make sure, I'll go and get the potion for dizziness." Madam Pomfrey swished her wand and the glass repaired itself. She then went to the cupboard to get the potion. "What I don't understand is why you are beet red, Miss Weasley."

Rose chuckled and peered on the doorway. Scorpius waved his hand and smiled.

_Sweet dreams_, he mouthed.

"What are you staring at out there, Miss Weasley? Alright, I think I'm going to lock the doors if it's bothering you."

Scorpius was enclosed in darkness. He would be dreaming of Rose tonight.

* * *

><p><em>Haha...I had fun writing that...Hahaaaaaa...<em>

_If you want to know why it took me a month to update (well, I think it's a month but I was never good in math), you can check Chapter 14 of my other Scorose fic, _A Blonde Weasley and a Redheaded Malfoy _(but heck, I doubt that you care about my plight). And yes, I am advertising that multi-chap...haha. I'm not a Communication student for nothing. _

_Apologies for wrong grammars and spellings._


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